Once in awhile something comes along in business that can revolutionize even largely traditional industries like crafts. Right now, that force is new media. Noell Hyman is showing how new media business models can be used in the scrapbook industry with her Paperclipping website. I got her to talk about what it is like to be part of introducing that revolution to the scrapbook world.
Q: Can you describe Paperclipping?
A: Paperclipping is a scrapbooking video tutorial podcast with a community. We provide regular (mainly weekly), professional tutorials on scrapbooking design principles, techniques, and concepts. We offer some of these for free (usually every other one that gets released is free). To see all of them, people get a six-month membership, which allows them to see all of the episodes in HD quality as they come out, plus they have access to all of the archived videos from the very first one we ever shot.
To supplement the weekly tutorials, we have a live show on Tuesday night. This is a more casual show where I live-stream video over the internet. There is a chat room for the audience to get to know each other (we grow a nice community this way) and for audience members to ask me questions or share of themselves. I take video and audio calls over Skype during the show.
We also share as a community through the Paperclipping Gallery, Forums, and newsletter. All of these features are free except for the Paperclipping Membership, which gives access to all of the videos.
Q: What made you decide to start Paperclipping?
A: My husband is the “Izzy” behind Izzy Video…a producer of video podcast tutorials. His other shows are Izzy Video, which teaches how to shoot and edit digital video, and Rolling R’s, which is a Spanish tutorial. There are some other shows in the making, or on hold, as well.
It was Izzy’s idea to start a scrapbooking show with me as the host three years ago. He had more confidence in me than I did at the time. I had been having success writing for a different niche. Because of that niche, we both knew I could form an online community. And I have a lot of experience performing on-stage. Working without a live audience, though, and talking to a camera is different. It turned out to be something I could get used to fairly quickly.
Q: This business model is new territory for the scrapbook world. Are there special challenges in what you are doing because of that?
A: We spend a lot of time helping scrapbookers get used to the technology of downloading videos, buying subscriptions, using iTunes, etc. Unlike my husband’s show audience, which is extremely tech-savvy, much of the Paperclipping audience needs some guidance in terms of how it all works. We’re very happy to walk the audience through each step, if necessary. We really appreciate them taking these steps into the world of new media in order to get the best type of scrapbooking support there is.
In addition to the time it takes to help audience members, what we do is very technical. It requires a broad list of skills. Izzy and I are so fortunate to possess the combination of skills that a show like ours requires.
Q: Who are your “new media” idols?
My husband, Israel Hyman, or “Izzy,” is my new media idol. He has guided me through each new step and feature of Paperclipping and has been the brain behind the technology of what we do (although, I take credit for the live show idea, while he thinks it was his brainchild. Really, we got the idea from some friends of ours…).
I also really admire Leo Laporte and Veronica Belmont. I was fortunate to sit in a session by Chris Pirillo –a leader in the new media movement who is very entertaining.
[Editor's note: I have to second Noell's mention of Leo Laporte and Veronica Belmont. I am also huge fans of theirs. We follow their internet content, such as TWIT and Tekzilla, regularly at our house via our computers and AppleTV.]
Q: What is your future vision for Paperclipping?
A: We have been testing out a possible new feature–Paperclipping Quick Tips–which are shorter videos, about 1-1/2 minutes long. These are in addition to our regular episodes, which are between 5-7 minutes. Some of these tip ideas will come from our audience members if we continue them. Most are my own tips. We don’t know whether we’ll continue them or not because they require so many hours to produce.
We’ll also be releasing DVD’s soon. Some will be a compilation of past episodes, others will be new, never-before-seen videos that are more exhaustive and project-oriented than the weekly episodes.
Overall, our vision of Paperclipping is to always be on the cutting edge of technology as it delivers tutorials in the very best methods technology makes available–to help others to design their stories through scrapbooking. Right now the “edge” is professional pre-recorded video podcasts and live-streaming video. As new technology develops, we’ll be on it if it will help our audience get better access to excellent scrapboooking ideas.
Q: What is your favorite ever episode of Paperclipping that you have done and why?
A: I love so many of the episodes (and of course, there are some that I don’t love so much). The two episodes on Stickles (39 & 42) were probably some of our most popular ever. My friend and talented scrapbooker, Dedra Long, helped me brainstorm some ideas for unique and stunning ways to use Stickles. I shared lots of projects and layouts from both her, and myself.
A favorite subject of my heart, though is design, and my favorite episodes are the ones that share design principles, whether the concepts are foundational or more advanced. The relevance of techniques and products may fade with the trends, but the principles behind them, the principles of design overall, will always apply. Plus, I like to make it easier for scrapbookers get the look they love in their own style, rather than just tell them what to do. Give a man to fish, you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime, and all that jazz…
One of my favorites is Episode 46: The Invisible Grid. Also, Designing With Lines, Episode 40, is a good foundation tutorial in preparation for #46.
Q: What scrapbook supply is your favorite to play with?
A: Patterned paper. Wordstrips. Stickles. Rub-on’s. In that order.
Q: What is your favorite scrapbooking technique right now?
A: I love creating a collage or gathering of photos using Photoshop and mixing that technology with more artsy techniques like painting, hand-stitching, beading, etc. With Christmas on the way, I’ve also been pulling out my Stickles again. I love the shimmery glitter look for the holidays.
Q: Who are your scrapbooking idols?
A: Ali Edwards is my mentor and idol. She ignited a paradigm shift within me a year before we started Paperclipping and I’ll always appreciate her eye for design and her heart for being real and telling our stories.
Q: In closing, what would you like Scrapbook Update’s readers to know about you and about Paperclipping?
A: I’d like to invite them to try our videos…there is a list of free ones available for them on the home page. They will also feel welcome during our live show on Tuesday nights at 5:30pm PST at [Paperclipping Live on Ustream]. We have a blast, so I hope they’ll check it out.
Nancy, thank you for interviewing me about Paperclipping. It was a real pleasure to answer questions about the show from a business-model perspective.